We Are Root: Kitsune
by Schrenostahl
Summary: Uzumaki Naruko ends up in the DC universe. A universe where heroes and villains clash. What if she won't pick a side? How well would she fare against both at the same time? She may be considered a former Root operative, but there is no such thing. World, meet Root. Superheroes, meet kitsune. Naruto, Justice League, Teen Titans, and Young Justice crossed over. Dimension-travel.
1. Chapter 0: Prologue

**A/N**

 **First of all, I would like to say that I do not own either** ** _Naruto_** **, or any of** ** _DC Comics'_** **products. As a matter of fact, I am only familiar with both of the universes through other people's fan works and the wiki-resources dedicated to the original stories.**

 **Second, English is not my first language. Nor is it my second; it is my third language. Although I can speak it a bit better than my fourth and fifth languages, it still does not make me a native speaker. The way I use the language is not instinctual, it is conscious.**

 **This entails some inconvenience for the readers. Well, for those of them who are native English speakers, anyway. There is a fairly good reason that people, as a rule, only translate texts** ** _into_** **the languages they picked up as children. Even though this particular work is not a translation but the original, there is no big difference. While it may be possible for me to get the grammar right sometimes, the same cannot be said about the usage of words, syntax and stylistic devices. There could also appear some perceived implications, of which I, as the writer, would have no idea.**

 **You have been warned.**

 **Third, the story is M-rated due to swearing and future violence. I do not hate smut, but I am not overly fond of it either, so there will be no lemons here. I often end up skipping them, when reading other people's stories, so I would rather not write them myself. They are more often than not inessential to the plot, anyway. Besides, romance is most certainly not what is going to be driving this story.**

 **That said, on with the story.**

* * *

 **Prologue**

The room in a glossy skyscraper at the western end of Jump City overlooked the downtown. On the inside, it was one of the most plain rooms imaginable: a set of simple furniture, a computer, a pale beige carpet, and a couple of big dark-red flowerpots with half-wilted plants.

What kind of unusual things could possibly be happening there?

Well, this _was_ Jump City, so the question is not as rhetorical as it might sound to an ignorant audience, but, at the moment, no rampaging supervillain or superhero vigilante graced the building with their majestic presence, although, things like that happened in the city from time to time. As a matter of fact, there was no one in the apartment. Not a soul, except for a teenage girl who sat on the windowsill.

She was unusual.

The whisker-like marks on her cheeks and the rhombic dot on her forehead were the first thing one would notice upon looking at her otherwise unblemished pale face.

The second thing worth notice was her military-looking gear, which felt out of place for two reasons. First, the girl was a teenager and thus not entitled to possess any kind of military gear at all. Second, said gear consisted of bandages, wrapped around her calves; a supposedly medical kit, smelling of herbs rather than ethanol, phenol, or any other antiseptics; a sturdy green flak jacket she wore over a black cloak; and a strange outlandish knife the girl was twirling in her hands. The knife had a diamond-shaped business end, a thin braided handle, and a ring wide enough to put a finger through. The girl also had a porcelain bear mask lying beside her. The rolled-up sleeves of the cloak revealed her hands, covered with tattoos — or rather _seals,_ which, admittedly, were indeed tattoos. They were simply not meant for aesthetic purposes.

Her blood-red rippled eyes with nine tomoe would be the third thing to draw attention, although only the girl herself knew what exactly they were and what they could do. To answer the implied question, they were the Rinne Sharingan, doujutsu that allowed the user to transcend humanity and to rewrite reality at will, as well as to use nifty little tricks.

The window frame was empty, the glass long gone. The girl, however, did not mind the breeze. Considering the fact she was the one who had shattered the glass before sending the shards away with a very special doujutsu technique, known as Kamui, her willingness to endure the air was not exactly unexpected.

Her name was Uzumaki Naruko, and she was not of this world, having been displaced along some extra dimensions and, most likely, along the basic three as well (otherwise, she would have ended up in outer space, not unlike the myriads of less fortunate dimension-travelers).

At the moment, Naruko was staring eagerly into the smoggy distance, the Rinne Sharingan spinning in her eyes, and smiling as the soft wind played with her blond pigtails.

The smile then grew into a sneer; apparently, Naruko had just seen something of interest to her.

 _'You're one vicious little vixen, you know that?'_ the voice of a certain former demon fox grumbled in her mind.

 _'Look who's talking, a demon fox,'_ she answered leisurely, seemingly unfazed.

 _'Well, I'm not exactly little, am I? Besides, the point still stands.'_

 _'Shut up, Kurama.'_

 _'No, seriously, I mean it.'_

 _'I said, shut up,'_ Naruko answered, a tad more irritated.

 _'You need to get laid,'_ concluded the demon fox.

Naruko gritted her teeth, balling her hands into fists. Apparently, she was not happy to hear that.

 _'And how, pray tell, do you expect me to do that?'_

 _'I don't see a problem as long as you are finished sorting through your previous incarnations' memories.'_ The fox would have shrugged if it had been capable of such an action.

 _'All of whom had been straight males,'_ Naruko said acidly. _'And for your information, I'm already done, but I'm not sure, if I really am Naruko.'_

 _'Switch to girls then,'_ the fox suggested helpfully.

 _'Not happening. Now shut up.'_

 _'All right, seduce some boys and get over it,'_ it made a new suggestion.

 _'Not happening either. Now shut up,'_ she growled.

 _'I still think you really need to get la—'_ began the fox, but it was cut short by the girl.

"I said shut the fuck up!" the knife—the _kunai_ — sank into the sill with a loud thud. "I do not want to, got it? You should know, you're the one who's killed my libido!" she yelled. She would have scared someone with that yell, had she not been alone; not physically, at least. "You've even gone as far as to shut down my menstrual cycle!"

This is where the fox would have pouted, but, alas, it could not.

 _'That was never my fault, much less my intention. You're being irrational. In case you failed to notice, I used to be a giant sentient genderless mass of chakra, never meant to procreate. Sexual drive is not something I was supposed to possess. Merging with me would bring irreversible consequences, I told you as much.'_

 _'Yes. Yes, you did,'_ a now calmer Naruko nodded absent-mindedly, as she plucked the kunai out of the sill and went on with twirling it. _'Now, be a good little fox and stop pestering me.'_

 _'I believe we've just found out I am not little... Aw, come on, kit, it always worked for Kushina and Mito! You should try it!'_

 _'How many times should I tell you I don't care? Besides, I don't want to hear about my mother's sexual activity.'_

 _'Your loss, then. She was qui—'_ the fox trailed off, having felt Naruko's murderous anger.

Despite herself, the corners of the girl's mouth quirked up.

 _'I don't think so. I know that your seal used to be much less comfortable back then, so you kind of couldn't be in the mood for peeping. Besides, even if you weren't lying, my circumstances are still different. Now could you be so kind as to shut up? I've been getting annoyed by these talks lately.'_

The fox, however, just would not let it go.

 _'Now, about the circumstances... While I may have killed your libido, you're sixteen,'_ the fox said. _'You've been an adult for four years. You could have gotten married to someone already, you could have had kits of your own, but you never had. I refuse to take the blame for that! In fact, I blame the stupid cripple for your prudishness. You know how he was, training, training, more training, a mission, more training, more training... Crazy, that one.'_

Naruko froze, no more twirling the kunai.

 _'You better watch your filthy mouth. You will not speak ill of Danzou-sama,'_ her inner voice was quite icy.

 _'Dear Inari-sama, what did I say?'_ the fox gasped in feigned horror.

 _'I will not tolerate anyone speaking ill of Danzou-sama, not even you. You have just spoken ill of him,'_ elaborated Naruko, refusing to pick up on the mocking tone.

 _'You do realize I never said it was him?'_

Naruko did not answer.

 _'Hey, kit! Is it just me, or is he your only true love?'_

Naruko's brows twitched before she sighed, deliberately calming down. This was not the first time the fox was getting on her nerves. She could deal with that.

 _'Shut up or I'll shut you off myself. It is thanks to Danzou-sama that I was given the Mokuton and the Sharingan, it is thanks to him that I defeated Kaguya. If I had been too weak, we would have been no more. In the end, not only did he protect Konohagakure no Sato, he saved the whole world!'_

 _'By proxy. You,'_ the fox objected.

 _'It matters not. While I cannot make you show Danzou-sama proper respect, I am quite capable of not hearing your disrespectful, arrogant, ill-timed and ill-directed—'_ she never finished, as the fox interjected hastily.

 _'All right, all right! My, no need to get so excited. That was a joke. A bad one, I admit. I'm sorry, all right?'_

 _'All right then. See that you don't do that again. Well,'_ she sighed once more, _'for at least a couple of days.'_

 _'You got it!'_

Silence settled in for a couple of minutes.

"Say, Kurama... Now would you look at that? Hook, line, and sinker," Naruko smirked, breaking the silence, as she stared intently into the distance yet again.

Of course, seeing that it was not English she was speaking, her original phrase sounded different as well as had a different literal meaning, otherwise Kurama would have immediately cracked a joke about fishermen.

As it was, however, it merely gulped in a exaggeratedly dramatic manner.

 _'Yeah... Not creepy at all.'_

 _'Oh please, that's just an innocent prank,'_ Naruko huffed, folding her arms.

 _'Innocent, my ass. For a former Root operative, maybe. Although I wouldn't expect any of the others to bother if they were in your place. But can't you see you're going to break those people? That's some prank. Like I said, vicious.'_

 _'But they really do have issues the size of this city,'_ Naruko pursed her lips. _'And I happen to hate their no-killing rule. They take it all as a sick game, and I don't mean just the youngsters. Almost every single dangerous offender gets to get away on a regular basis. Imagine my surprise when I found out that the first guy I offed in this world had been in action for years! What about future casualties? Are those people capable of consideration at all? They all need a lesson. Badly.'_

 _'Well, I don't have to imagine. I kind of never left your head ... stomach ... whatever! But I suppose you're right on that one. Still, I fail to see how what you've set up would be an appropriate lesson. Why don't you drop it, while you still can? You're going to waste resources.'_

 _'Come on, nobody's going to get hurt, other than my clones, that is. Well, they are going to take the little heroes' respective egos with them, but that's about it. Good riddance, I'll say!'_

 _'Clones!'_ cried the fox in disbelief. _'Those are actual bodies! You've had them growing in those chakra-pods! You've gone so far as to imitate their supposed age and non-human origin on the molecular level. Not even blood clones are that... that...'_ it obviously was at a loss for words.

The girl shifted, her legs now dangling out of the window. She was absolutely unperturbed by the hundred and something floors between the ground and her feet.

 _'Still my clones. Still get their memories, experiences, and chakra back after their death. Your point?'_

 _'Oh, I don't know... How about, you've gone out of your way for a prank of all things, eh? Those bodies are something good old Orochi-kun would've given all his limbs for. And his tongue. Can't forget about the tongue.'_

 _'But it wasn't impossible,'_ the girl smiled. _'Tsunade-baa-sama was a good med-nin and a teacher.'_

 _'Like I'm going to believe that. The drunk can't sober up to save her life.'_

 _'Well, that's just not true,'_ Naruko pouted. _'And she really was and, I hope, is magnificent. She has undone the damage done to me and taught me everything she knew. That's an accomplishment in its own right. Especially the latter.'_

For a moment or two, Kurama was silent.

 _'Hah! You finally admit you'd been broken at Root? Got you!'_ the fox finally exclaimed with mirth.

 _'No,'_ Naruko said flatly, disgusted.

 _'Here we go again...'_ it sighed. _'What did she undo then?'_

 _'Damage.'_

 _'Told so.'_

 _'At Root, I've never suffered any damage. Danzou-sama always was needlessly respectful.'_

 _'Oh, really? Where have you suffered it, in that case? Do humor me.'_

 _'I...'_ Naruko said reluctantly before pausing for a heartbeat. _'Somewhere. Not at Root, though.'_

 _'Keep telling yourself that. On the second thought, don't. Either way, you've gained godlike powers, both through training, apprenticeship, and by your defeating Kaguya, and now you're using them for the sake of the most pettiest prank I can think of!_ That _is my point.'_

 _'So?'_

 _'So! You're using the legendary Rinne Sharingan to observe your so called prank and its aftermath. I cannot even begin to comprehend just how trivial and insulting to my father that is!'_

 _'That's not a very good point. That Suupaaman fellow also seems to possess godlike powers. His, perhaps, are even more impressive than mine. Can't tell which are superior, though, have to fight him first to figure out that one. Anyways, he only utilizes his powers to fight crime, from what I gathered. While that might be admirable, he never goes full out, nor does he do something productive. He could carry a lot of things into orbit, for one, but does he ever? I seriously doubt that. Whereas I am, at the very least, using the Mokuton to grow beautiful trees and juicy fruits. And should I remind you, who's supplying Konoha with all the useful toys that are not produced in our world? Gamakichi has been busy, you know.'_

 _'I'm not going to argue that, but you can't know for sure what that superhero does and what he does not. You can't speak the language that good.'_

Naruko shrugged.

 _'Maybe not, but I count on Mi-chan's help to make trivial judgments, since she's a local... compared to me, that is. And she does not exactly like him very much. Besides, now that I've figured out enough to understand what's written in the newspapers as well as to get by, I'm going to make big progress. All I have to do is to use the Rinne Sharingan to memorize some dictionaries.'_

 _'People don't speak dictionaries, kit, they speak languages,'_ said the fox sagely. _'Forget that, they, first of all,_ speak _. No doujutsu can help you with that, unless you dump somebody else's memories into that pretty head of yours, but it isn't too useful for language-learning either, as we've already found out the hard way.'_

 _'"We?" Really, Kurama? You didn't have to endure that.'_

 _'Well,'_ the fox said sheepishly, _'I'm still kind of right, am I not?'_

 _'Yeah... That's exactly why I'm going to practice a lot.'_

 _'By abusing your shadow clones,'_ the amused fox supplied.

 _'But of course. Why would I deprive myself of such an easy way to accomplish my goals?'_ the girl smirked.

 _'I thought you'd like the challenge.'_

 _'No, not in this case.'_

 _'I so didn't see that coming.'_

 _'I bet, you—'_ she never finished the thought and snapped her eyes back onto whatever she had been gazing at previously. "Whoa!" she exclaimed. "They've finally begun! Can't wait to see their faces when they pull this one through. Come on, come on, just do this, just make it. Show it to me," she bounced, excited, even as she spoke.

 _'Now that was really creepy,'_ the fox sighed once more, but Naruko paid no attention to its words, absorbed into the scene that was unfolding before her enhanced eyes, miles away.

Nobody noticed her, and even if someone had, they would never have connected the dots. With her apparent glee and not so apparent reason for it, she could very well pass for yet another supervillainess, for all people knew. Now, supervillains were known to be an ambitious bunch; a non-lethal prank unfolding miles away just would not account for a villain's good mood. Especially not a prank that was not meant to be discovered as such.

Naruko knew that, too, and she was going to enjoy what she saw to the fullest.

* * *

 **A/N**

 **This was the prologue.**

 **I do not have any idea how soon the first chapter will be up, if ever. I am not well-versed in the DC universe. I always knew** ** _of_** **Batman and Superman, but this is it. The problem is that do not really know what to look up first. No, seriously, the DC timeline does not seem to make any sense. All I got is a headache. So, no promises.**

 **As of now, the city, where Naruko pulls the prank on the Justice League and their associates, is Jump City, but that particular detail can be changed easily. What the prologue has is what the last chapter will have, except it is given from another perspective. There is a long way to go, so I am open to suggestions.**

 **I plan on Naruko landing in Gotham before moving to whatever destination that attracts her interest. That will take some time.**

 **And, yes, she has a bear ANBU mask. I speculated that Danzou would not risk discovering his agent** **'s identity through her wearing a mask somehow related to her.  
**


	2. Chapter 1: First kill

**A/N**

 **A guest has pointed out that Root is a disbanded group. Actually, according to the Naruto wiki, Root was only officially disbanded after the Uchiha Massacre; until then, it was very legal, if secret. Now, Naruko became a Root operative before that happened, as one can figure out based on Danzou's description in this chapter. And the very fact we have a Naruko—an OC—instead of the canonical Naruto makes the whole story AU, so any argument based on the canon as to why she could not have joined Root is sort of pointless. Like the guest has said, it** ** _is_** **fan fiction.**

 **And I am writing a story** ** _I_** **would like to read.**

 **Also, as you all might have noticed, I am making Konoha and the Elemental Countries in general look darker than they have been portrayed in canon, wandering into the AU territory even deeper. Well, what I am trying to do is to make the whole thing a bit more consistent. The way I see it, that entails a lot of unpleasant and outright disgusting things, ugly things that justify the M-rating. I mean, come on, almost all the characters in canon are either child soldiers, or former child soldiers! They usually start as early as** ** _twelve_** **, sometimes even earlier. They have Torture and Interrogation Force. They have a term "fodder-nin," as in, "cannon-fodder." And I am not going to sugarcoat any of it, although I am not going to make the world needlessly dark either. I am going to bring it all out in the flashbacks, to show** ** _shinobi_** **as I see them, to show what they perceive as "good" and "bad" even when those things outright contradict what we perceive as "good" and "bad," to show all of it, possibly making things up in the process unless they are already implied in canon.**

 **In this context, making Naruko a Root operative makes perfect sense. She is a weapon, a weapon of mass destruction no less. That is how she is seen by those who make decisions, even if they genuinely like her as a person.**

 **The shinobi world-view is the world-view Naruko has brought to the DC universe. She presents a good contrast to the local supers, which is why she is what she is.**

 **Now, on with the story.**

* * *

 **Chapter 1: First kill  
**

As a rule, kunoichi started as genjutsu users, med-nin, and ninjutsu wielders—especially if they had a _kekkei genkai—_ bloodline limit.

Of course, those weren't the only possible choices for cute little girls daydreaming of growing into formidable, ferocious, feared killing machines, who would have earned their personal section in foreign villages' Bingo Books or finally caught the attention of the boy they happened to like, whatever their preferences were... Incidentally, future kunoichi of _Kirigakure no Sato—_ the Village Hidden in the Mist _—_ would certainly prefer the former if they were raised at the time it was better known as _Chigiri no Sato_ —the Village of the Bloody Mist—while future kunoichi of Konohagakure no Sato were less obsessed with becoming unstoppable agents of chaos and destruction and a bit more willing to enthrall handsome boys. Either way, their choices were not limited to genjutsu, iryoujutsu, and ninjutsu. Although uncommon, it was not unusual for a physically strong kunoichi to pursue a specialization in taijutsu, the most taxing career start. In Konohagakure, taijutsu proficiency was also mandatory for kunoichi of the Hyuuga clan, even when they were weak as a kitten, since the clan's every member had to do their best to master the Gentle Fist style. That was the policy of the clan. A Hyuuga girl could not merely choose not to learn it, besides, the style did not exactly require exceptional physical fitness. It should also be noted that usually rookie female hand-to-hand fighters, despite their relative strength, relied on skill, weapons—particularly projectiles—and the general finesse of their combat style. As they grew in rank, however, they also grew to overcome their weaknesses, gaining more experience and raw power, and once they passed a certain threshold, the distinctions between the two genders' performance in battle were eroded.

On the other hand, the weakest kunoichi were raised as seductresses; they never went through the Academy, which was meant for a more direct military training, regardless of the students' gender and future careers. But the weak were not a part of the big picture anyway: honeypot kunoichi were all as good as civilians chakra-wise and, in combat, would hardly make as much as a good distraction. They were important for the espionage network, they might even be able to perform a sneak attack on sleeping shinobi, if the target knew about the kunoichi's presence and had previously dismissed her as a minor threat, but an all-out war? They would be the first to fall, all the while female second-year Academy students from designated fodder-groups, the ones with civilians' children only, would still stand their ground and fight back. That's not to say that the students were particularly strong, it's just a sample of how unfit for combat honeypot kunoichi were. However, despite such a handicap, building up their reserves of chakra was restricted, otherwise their developed chakra system would make them highly conspicuous to any adequate sensor ninja. Although such kunoichi did know some jutsu, designed and adapted specifically for civilian-level chakra pools, and wielded them with deadly perfection. Their physical development was also intentionally hindered, since regular peasant girls tended to lack well-toned muscles and were usually underfed. Honeypot kunoichi never made it to Chuunin, either dying or retiring between their teens and mid-twenties unless their espionage targets took them as their wives, which was uncommon.

Uzumaki Naruko was a unique girl. With her massive chakra reserves she most certainly was not raised as a honeypot kunoichi, even though being an orphan was one of the requirements for enrollment, but, dear Rikudou Sennin, was she different from your typical female resident of Konohagakure no Sato!

Naruko grew into one of those rare heavy frontal assault kunoichi—girls breaking down doors, pulverizing their opponents, altering the landscape with their stray hits, tanking enemy combatants' most devastating attacks, and, generally, being the meanest killing machines of them all. She, unlike so many other girls, always relied on brute force. With her being an Uzumaki, an orphan, and the jinchuuriki of the strongest bijuu in existence from birth, the Path of Brawl was, perhaps, the only path she could take. And take it she did.

Before she joined Root, children at the playground sometimes picked on her. While it is not unusual for a child to be picked on, the problem was that the teasing made the good days. On bad days Naruko was simply ignored and dismissed, since most parents kept telling their kids to avoid associating with her at all costs or even run for their lives if she so much as made a step in their general direction. So, yes, when the children disregarded what they had been told and bullied her, before running for it as good children who do as their parents say, that was actually the best life could throw at her.

Naruko never cried, she just wasn't cut out for tears, but she craved for attention, so she decided to prank a few most stuck up kids to get it and to fight them if they were ever to approach her, dreams of getting revenge in mind. She was a little girl, nothing like a real kunoichi, they wouldn't think she'd fight back! And, that way, she wouldn't be ignored.

So she did prank them. And they did approach her. And the first time two of them did—after she had dropped a bucket of water on them—she was excited, taking it as the best entertainment she'd ever had, with her imagination running wild.

* * *

The foe did not retaliate immediately, having chosen the option of temporary retreat. Alas, our heroine mistook their devious deceit for the ultimate victory, and thereby her vigilance had been lulled by the foe. The battleground had not been prepared, for our heroine was not a genius of strategy and tactics at her tender age of five and foresaw no late retaliation. Yet the foe failed to deceive her again as they approached her once more, since our heroine saw right through them, discovering their true intentions immediately upon seeing their grim, menacing features, and she was fully prepared to persevere.

They were two, and she was but one. She expected to fall to her foe's superior might and numbers, yet she never faltered. The foe stared at her, she stared back at them. A mortal battle was about to break out.

A battle cry was heard, and the enemies engaged at close quarters.

As big a surprise as it was, our heroine's expectations as to her inevitable defeat proved to be not entirely correct, and with that, she discovered she was not as frail as the other girls her age, far from it. The taste of victory was sweet. The foe, conquered and ashamed, fell back in extreme disorder to lick their wounds.

Not once and not twice was she re-approached, the foe inflating their numbers, but, again and again, she was victorious, and when she was not, that only occurred due to the foe's having an inconceivable advantage of quantity over her to overwhelm her otherwise impenetrable defenses.

She never grieved over having been subjugated, for every time such a disgusting thing happened, the foe proved dishonorable, and thus she did not consider herself truly beaten.

* * *

Much later, she was told and realized that, in real life, honor and battle do not mix. Shinobi and kunoichi cheated. Samurai and onna-bugeisha cheated, too, even if most of them claimed they did not and would spill anyone's intestines on the ground if the poor fools so much as implied they did, provided the oblivious offenders did not have any means to protect themselves against the onslaught. Shinobi took pride in their tricks, samurai would rather call theirs stratagems and forget about them immediately as well as "help" any unwilling others to forget. Nevertheless, everyone cheated when it came to fights: civilians, samurai, regular shinobi and, of course, black-ops. That is what Root was all about.

Honor and battle do not mix. Unconceivable to Naruko the five-years-old girl, this later became one of the rules she lived by. One of the rules Danzou-sama taught her. One of the rules her enemies confirmed. One of the rules she came to embrace.

Even when enemy combatants are nothing but ants compared to one's power, there is no reason to play fair, since _they will_ cheat, given a chance, and if they won't, despite their severe disadvantage, then they are too idiotic to live and should not be considered combatants in the first place. Enemies are not to be played with, least of all fairly, they are to be put down, fast and hard, and stay that way. Regrettably, regular shinobi and kunoichi were not immune to the vice of bragging, to the vice of holding back, to the vice of presumed invincibility. Many S-ranked ninja fell to these vices. None of them were black-ops.

However, all that came to be later.

At the time Naruko was still a little girl, what mattered to her was her childish honor and, above all, her thirst for human interaction.

All her pranks, all her fights she had won and lost did give her attention, a lot of it. What they did not give her was acceptance. She did not know why, but nobody seemed to be willing to accept her. She did every thing she could think of to get it, but she had never succeeded. Those two boys she had fought for the first time were the closest thing to friends she had, except they were not one bit friendly to her. To put it bluntly, they hated her guts.

Acceptance is a tricky thing, so much unlike attention. Attention in general is cheap and easy to get, acceptance, however, is very different. It cannot be obtained by blowing something up... Well, maybe it can, but Naruko was not familiar with a certain blond boy whose kekkei genkai manifested as mouths at the center of his palms and who liked to blow things up. The boy lived in another village, after all, while she lived in Konoha, and she could not find acceptance there. The only man in the village ever to pay her attention and be kind to her was the Old Man Hokage, but he was always rather busy.

Then, soon after Naruko had turned six years old, she made her first kills. She didn't mean to, but she killed nevertheless.

It began as an ordinary night. Konoha, as usual, sank into darkness, dim streetlights on. Naruko was heading back to her apartment she had been given recently. The route was different from the one she used to take to get back to the orphanage, and she was a bit scared because of that. Everything seemed so unfamiliar and eerie and unreal, and the unlit streetlights were what terrified her most. There were several of them in a row. They were perfectly functional the day before, and now, they were off. Had such a thing happened several weeks ago, Naruko would have stayed where she was, waiting for the arrival of a very angry nurse. That was acceptable. That was the lesser evil. But now she had to live alone. She did live alone. Personally, she'd rather not, but nobody was interested in her opinion. And, since she lived alone, there was no one to pick her up. So she took a deep breath and bolted into the narrow, unlit alley.

She ran, believing she'd be safe the moment she tore through the darkness and emerged on the other side of the alley. But Naruko was not as safe as she would like to be.

A gang of older boys jumped on her suddenly.

She honestly felt a bit relieved, since she no longer had to dread the unknown. The problem was, they did catch her off-guard and there were too many of them for her to handle or even to escape. Naruko actually had a very good reason to try to escape. The boys, who did not seem to look familiar, reeked of alcohol. Worse, some of them wore hitai-ate, shimmering in the thick darkness; _foreign_ hitai-ate, if the blobs depicted on them were any indication. Naruko didn't have to be familiar with the boys to figure out that they were bad news. And they had called her a "Namikaze brat". It wouldn't be the first time she'd been called a brat, however, she had only been called either simply a "brat" or, on several occasions, a "demon brat", whatever that means. Never a "Namikaze" one. That was new. Unknown. And dangerous.

Still, she was naïve at the time and underestimated the "dangerous" part. So she was surrounded and they were threatening her, big deal. It wouldn't be the first time someone threatened Naruko. Some villagers did that before, what of it? Not one of them had laid a finger on her, nobody ever had unless they were kids. Admittedly, this time was different. The boys had called her a different name and would probably beat her up, badly, that much was clear, but she would endure that with dignity... unless there were another way, which was precisely the thing Naruko tried to get as she darted away or rather "made a single sharp step" away, since she failed.

And then she discovered that they were not about to let her get out of there alive.

The first punch connected to her face. The first kick made her bend over. A heavy smack threw her on the ground.

All of it was just the beginning.

A very beaten up Naruko soon blacked out, barely registering the kunai the boys drew out and fearfully expecting to die, only to come around to bodies that lay around her, ripped apart. Naruko herself was standing on her fours when she came to, blood crawling down her arms, hands and fingers and dripping from her now-sticky pigtails. She felt a piece of paper stuck on her forehead and proceeded to remove it absentmindedly.

She stood up, fighting the urge to fall again and throw up. The mixed stench of blood, waste and entrails was disgusting and made her dizzy.

Naruko was horrified.

 _'Did I do that?'_ she thought, shuddering. _'No! What... What do I do now! I'm so dead! They're going to execute me, if that was really me! I have to run! Hide! But... Won't they find me? Of course they will. The Hyuuga and the Inuzuka will find anyone. Gods, help me please!'_

It was not her deed, however, not precisely. The nine-tailed demon fox sealed in her, of whose existence she would learn soon after, had just saved her live, killing the assailants. Of course, one might say that it fought back against them with very extreme prejudice, but, then again, they _were_ trying to kill Naruko, its host. And the fox was a bit mad at humans in general at the time. All right, not a little mad, very mad. As in, rip-kill-maim-tear-gnaw-squeeze mad. Even though Kurama would never later acknowledge that such a thing had ever happened, it did. But Naruko could understand him. The fox, probably, felt somewhat ashamed, and that must be the real reason as to why it eventually came up with that genjutsu nonsense, failing to realize that Danzou-sama would never do something like that to her. He was Danzou-sama. That was all there was to it. That was the only reasoning she ever needed.

The next moment after Naruko had stood up, her life made a turnabout. She, finally, gained acceptance. Once and forever.

One Shimura Danzou emerged from shadows.

He looked a bit intimidating. An X-shaped scar on his chin, the dressed forehead, his right arm, resting on a bandage, and a cane he held—all that was enough to make a terrified Naruko even more afraid. She did not know yet that it was a good thing that he had appeared before her.

And so Naruko's heart sank. _'A witness!'_

"Admirable, Naruko-san" he said then with no greeting or introduction, inspiring her with hope, as he would later inspire her with many things. The girl calmed down a little. "However," he said, "I must say that it has been awkward, too awkward for my liking. Had an ordinary child been in your place, this most certainly would be an achievement to be proud of, and I would congratulate that child heartily if that were the case, yet you are the vessel, so it is not as impressive as it could have been. After all, Jounin Hatake was promoted to Chuunin when he was your age, and he was no vessel. He had a modest graveyard at the time, metaphorically speaking. Now that was truly impressive and commendable. You have a lot of things to improve if you ever wish to surpass him."

"Huh?" a terrified Naruko all but whispered. "I'm... I'm not in trouble? You're not going to turn me in?"

Somehow, this worried her much more than the fact she had just killed someone.

"I would not expect you to suffer unpleasant consequences because of what has happened if it were up to me," he reassured her.

"Who are you?" she asked then.

"My name is Shimura Danzou. You may call me Danzou-sama."

"Are... Are you a shinobi... Danzou-sama?"

"Indeed, I am," he said. "And, I am sure, you will be a fine kunoichi one day."

"Y-yeah!" she said. "I... I will..." she then looked around, unsure of what to do. Realization of what had just happened was yet to dawn on her, even though she understood what was now threatening _her_. And it's not like she'd never seen dead bodies before. Hidden villages had the lowest crime rate, Konoha had the lowest crime rate among the other villages, but dead bodies did turn up on the streets every few weeks even in this village, notorious for its fantastic safety and high moral standards.

But still, looking at the ripped bodies was a bit disconcerting for Naruko.

"What was that?" asked Danzou-sama patiently.

"I'll... I'll be Hokage, 'ttebane! First kunoichi Hokage ever!" exclaimed Naruko affectedly.

This did not come out the way it usually did. For once she didn't feel like saying that, but she said it nevertheless. It was only polite to do so, and Naruko couldn't think of a more original answer.

"Hmm. This may be your wish, however, you must understand that you have very little chances. You will never become a Hokage. Unless you are properly trained, that is."

"Then... I train?" Naruko said in a small voice. She was less and less afraid for her fate, but the discomfort of being so close to the dead bodies grew.

"Perhaps," answered Danzou-sama. "Perhaps, you do. Nevertheless, without a teacher, you will not accomplish much. But I suppose that I could train you. And I am very confident in my teaching abilities."

"Why... Why d'you do that?"

He smiled. Truly smiled.

"Good," he said simply. "Very good. I approve. To answer your question, Naruko-san, you have to become part of ANBU. That will be your price."

"ANBU?" whispered Naruko disbelievingly. ANBU... She knew scary stories about what they could and would do. To think she had been offered to join them! That was unreal. The world itself felt unreal at the moment!

"Indeed. Also, your loyalty will belong to Konohagakure no Sato and me, in that very order, for I serve the village. Through serving me, so will you."

"Ah... ANBU are... I am not a kunoichi yet!"

"Not everyone joins ANBU as an experienced shinobi. We do have recruits who know nothing of shinobi arts. And we teach them."

"But... why?"

Why would they want them, indeed?

"I believe that I have answered enough of your questions, but if you must know, they all possess something that makes teaching them worth it. So do you."

Naruko fell silent.

"So," said Danzou-sama, "do you wish to come with me? To become, perhaps, the greatest kunoichi in history? To surpass me, the Sannin, and the Hokage, each and every one of them? To let what has happened here be forgotten forever?"

Needless to say, Naruko answered "yes" after a short contemplation. She didn't refuse even when Danzou-sama told her that he'd have to brand her tongue with a cursed seal, so that she'd never betray the secrets entrusted to her, either willingly or unwillingly.

She came with him.

She never regretted it.

* * *

"Welcome to Root," said Danzou-sama after he had applied the seal to her tongue, "the most secret ANBU group of which I know. From this moment on, you, Uzumaki-Namikaze Naruko, are my personal apprentice. This know also, that it is not my habit to take apprentices. All Root recruits are trained by their designated teachers, none of whom is close to the head of Root. Yours is I, the head of Root himself. And I shall teach only you. As you can, perhaps, understand, this is a great honor, to be my apprentice. You will have to prove that you are worth this honor, demon-container or not."

"Demon-container?" Naruko flinched as her tongue stung a bit. "Namikaze?"

"Yes. You are the Kyuubi's container. Its jailer. Its enemy. Hopefully, in the future, its partner. Gods know, we could use a cooperative bijuu like Kumo's Hachibi," Danzou-sama added absentmindedly. "That is why I called you the vessel earlier tonight. You also are the Fourth Hokage's daughter."

"I am?" a very flabbergasted Naruko said as her jaw dropped. "But... But why are you telling me this?"

Danzou-sama smiled.

"Because I can afford to. Because you are no longer able to tell anyone anything without my explicit permission. Because it matters not. What does matter is that, within these walls, you are no longer Uzumaki, nor Namikaze, nor Naruko, nor a demon-container. You are Root. Root is you. This is how it works. You are a part of Root. Root is a part of you. Roots are unseen, and so are you. Wherever you are, Root is behind you. Root is with you. Root is flanking you. Because Root is backing you up. Root is your support. You are Root's support. Wherever Root is, you are there. Wherever you are, Root is there. You bring Root wherever you go. You are Root. Your alias, from this moment on, is Bear. Your alias might change. Your alias might never change. But you are not Bear. You are Root. To the public, you still are who you were yesterday. But you are not she anymore until your duty demands of you to become her once again. You will shed your emotions. You will shed your sorrows. You will shed your regrets. They all are but hindrance. Because Root has you. You are Root. Roots feel nothing. And this is your first and most important lesson. For we are the ones who, unseen, support the great tree of this village from the depth of the earth. We are Root. Tell me now, who are we?"

"We are Root," repeated Root operative Bear in awe, not fully understanding either the meaning of the words, but inspired and entranced still.

That is how she earned her acceptance. That is how she found her teacher. That is how she became a Root operative. And that is why, even though she came to the new world unprepared and lonely, with only Kurama to keep her company, she was not alone.

She was Root. Root was she.

She brought Root with her. Just like Danzou-sama said she would.

* * *

Of course, it was not her intention to travel universes and bring Root with her. In fact, she didn't even know how on earth she managed to land in a world completely different from hers as well as Ootsutsuki Kagya's arena-worlds. She had been kind of too busy fighting said Ootsutsuki Kaguya to pay attention to the ever-changing surroundings.

To say Naruko's fight with Kaguya was difficult is to say nothing. Kaguya was a goddess in her own right. Naruko was a mere human girl, no matter how mind-bogglingly powerful. They weren't even remotely equal. Kaguya could create pocket realities, impose any rules on them and, generally, do whatever she wished. Naruko could not, not to that extent. But Naruko also could not afford to retreat. There was no place to retreat to. The moment she wavered would be her last. Hers and her world's.

She was exhausted.

She had a rather sophisticated seal-array prepared, which would, hopefully, help her vanquish Kaguya for good. The only problem was it had been designed to beat Madara, not a deity. Naruko had no idea how well it would work against Kaguya.

She fought anyway, since she did not have any other option.

Kaguya did not cheat. She believed she was too powerful to cheat, and, essentially, she was. Naruko, on the other hand, was very willing to cheat. She used every opportunity to catch her breath, every opportunity to make a dirty trick, every opportunity to stall Kaguya...

Then she woke up to the rain dripping on her face. She clearly remembered how the fight began. She barely remembered what came next. What came in the end was but a blur.

And her back hurt like a bitch.

"Kai!" she cried before doing anything else, as she clasped her hands together in the concentration hand seal.

Nothing changed. That was to be expected, an attempt to dispel the presumed illusion was pointless to begin with. If Kaguya had managed to trap Naruko in a genjutsu, she would have been dead already.

The girl struggled to her feet to find herself at the center of a large crater in some kind of forest.

That was actually good...

Well, it would be, but something didn't add up. To start, the trees were too small. They grew too sparsely. And, finally, she could see a flickering light between the trees. She could see the light despite the simple fact it obviously was night! Night _and_ raining. It should have been pitch-black dark.

This could not be a forest.

People had to be here, too, especially since the light flickered, just as many lamps for civilians do, although Naruko could be mistaken because of the rain, the leaves, and the overall distance.

Out of habit, she triggered the seal-arrays on the backside of her eyelids, activating her former Sharingan, now Rinne Sharingan. She actually didn't need the seals as of lately, she could now use the doujutsu just like an Uchiha would, but old habits die hard.

The light's intensity was near-constant, alternating in very short, even cycles. That meant that the light was indeed electric in nature, with the power fed into the lamp being generator-produced current rather than stabilized Raiton chakra, which was always direct current. This, as a matter of fact, told Naruko a lot. Alternating current was centrally used either in hidden villages, Kumogakure being the only notable exception, or in very populated civilian villages that had constant shinobi presence. On the other hand, hidden villages did not feed alternating current into lamps, since the flickering tended to irritate middle-ranked shinobi and higher; they used rectifiers massively when it came to lighting. That's the same reason why the standard film frame rate was around three hundred frames per second. Since ninja were the primary consumers of motion pictures, their needs dictated the standards, whereas civilians would be content with just about twenty frames per second. Naruko learned that little fact when she was on the mission to guard one Koyuki Kazahana—an actress and a princess. Although, as she could attest, three hundred frames was a bit too little for a ninja of her caliber.

Anyway, wherever she was now, that had to be a civilian zone. Good. It would take the local shinobi some time to react to the disturbance her arrival could have caused.

Naruko also found out that there were a few more light sources behind the trees, the more distant ones seemingly on the move. They did not flicker. Confirmed mobile Raiton-fed light sources, then.

By the way, isn't it a bit much? What part of "wartime blackout" did these people not understand? Granted, Kaguya had Byakugan and would harvest every life in the world regardless of any precautions, but she was an unknown entity, whom nobody had taken into account, while Madara's associates would be very happy to get a highlighted target. They would probably even thank the officials for such an opportunity later, if any officials were left to thank.

On the other hand, the war was over. Maybe, they had a really good intelligence service? It didn't matter to Naruko, though. She was more interested in her current situation.

She strained her ears, hearing nothing in proximity other than the rain's drumming and some barely distinguishable noise, resembling the crash of breakers. Well, rain always was the best friend of those who lay an ambush and the sworn enemy of those on whom it would be sprung. It hides the noise and washes away the odor, even clouds the vision. But what it does not is hide chakra signatures.

Fortunately, Naruko was one of those few people who mastered the Sage arts and thus could reach out for the signatures.

The girl promptly sat still, cross-legged, and entered Sage Mode. Somehow, the sen-chakra felt different, but it was not her problem right now, her priority was to detect where strong chakra signatures were. Naruko wanted to evaluate the situation before rushing out of the "forest".

The results baffled her.

Civilians. Thousands and thousands of civilians. No trace of developed chakra signatures for miles. To think they had no sentries anywhere! Who in their right mind would leave so many civilians unprotected at the time of a world war, not even with a lousy rookie genin to alert their commanders if trouble came up! Abandoning civilians would be more than enough to warrant an instant death sentence without trial, unless the guilty party were willing to prove that sending all the troops away had been unavoidable, in which case they _might_ be granted the right to commit suicide instead of being executed. The only ones to make such a decision and live would be village leaders, who would still be held responsible before their respective Jounin Councils, and daimyou, who would have most likely suffered "an unfortunate accident that has bereaved this grieving country of its greatest and kindest lord" anyway. Well, at least that's how the great five villages operated, lesser shinobi villages might have different rules.

On the other hand, no shinobi meant no trouble for Naruko. _If_ there were none. It was quite possible that the local shinobi were just that good at masking their presence. Actually, it was a more sensible version compared to the one presuming the total absence of shinobi. Too many civilians to count and no shinobi to protect them? That would be plain stupid. That would be beyond stupid, even if this were a civilian village.

Shinobi were here because they had to be. Whether they were non-hostile did not matter. Naruko didn't know where she was, and some villages would be willing to disregard the truce. Of course, she _was_ an S-ranked kunoichi, but she was kind of tired after having defeated a fucking deity!

She _had_ defeated Kaguya... right?

 _'Kurama, do you read me?'_ Naruko asked even as she stood up, exiting Sage Mode.

 _'Of course I read you, kit,'_ the fox said with a chortle. _'It's not like I'm using one of those headsets, I'm always with you. No need to use that stupid argot.'_

 _'I don't remember how the fight ended. What happened?'_

 _'Kick the bitch's ass, you did.'_

 _'Why don't I remember it, then?'_

 _'Well, I do. As for you, well...'_ it trailed off. _'She played with the fucking reality. What's a human mind to her? It's a wonder you're still alive and not a drooling idiot. It's a wonder you've actually destroyed her. As she's found out, playing with the space-time is a bit dangerous even for a goddess. So she kind of helped you there. A fancy assisted suicide, mark my words.'_

 _'"Destroyed?" Not "sealed?"'_ Naruko quirked up her eyebrow, struggling to remember.

 _'Um... I hate to break it to you... No, this came out wrong. I'm happy to break it to you: you weren't planning on just sealing her. You wanted to destroy her and take her power. You kind of did. Can't believe it. That's... That's like a mouse taking on a lion and devouring the whole pride!'_

 _'Thanks for the flattering comparison,'_ answered Naruko dryly.

 _'No problem,'_ a cheerful Kurama responded.

 _'So... I'm the new Kaguya, aren't I?'_

The fox almost choked.

 _'You wish! Did you hit your head or something?'_ It contemplated the thought. _'Never mind, you did. Of course you aren't! You don't have any of her abilities... Well, maybe some of them. Oh, forget it! Why are even you asking_ me _? Do I look like the Rikudou Sennin to you?'_

 _'No, you don't. All right then, it's not like it matters now. I'm going to do some recon.'_

 _'You're sure?'_

 _'I might be unable to fight another opponent like Kaguya at the moment, but...'_

 _'You can't take on a fucking jounin right now!'_

 _'Well, that's an exaggeration.'_

 _'All right, all right. Two low-level S-ranks or even A-ranks would wipe the floor with you right now. You are sore and tired. You had no sleep for days! Why don't you have a rest first?'_

 _'Are you stupid? I can't just stay here! I don't know how I got here. There could have been a massive chakra surge. Better safe than sorry.'_

 _'Then who am I to interrupt you?'_

The girl didn't answer.

"Henge," whispered Naruko and promptly adopted the appearance of a nondescript civilian young woman.

She slowly walked towards the light, making sure she looked down like a good commoner girl. Several years ago, she used her Sharingan to copy the body language of some timid scullery maid whose heart raced in terror as she had to go past a fully equipped Naruko, who could actually hear how the girl's heart thumped. Back then, Naruko thought it might come in handy some day. The day had finally come. Now she was perfectly mimicking the poor girl's bearing.

In a minute, Naruko reached a walkway lit by bright yellow lanterns.

The paving was solid. Asphalt, perhaps.

 _'That's a bit extravagant,'_ the girl commented, having touched the paving.

 _'For civilians. A single Doton master could and must have done it. I can't see why are you so surprised.'_

 _'I can only sense civilians here. I doubt very much that shinobi would bother doing that for their convenience.'_

 _'Maybe, all the shinobi have been sent away.'_

 _'No. You do realize that it's impossible? With the lights flickering like that... And it does not look like a training ground for genin, either. Or anyone else, for that matter. Besides, why aren't they using the walkways, like, now? That's why I'm interested. Nobody's here aside from me. There is always someone who's just come off a night patrol. They don't have to worry about light exposure, they can afford to wait to adapt to the darkness again. So why aren't they here?'_

 _'What if the walkways are meant for intruders? Like you. That would explain it.'_

 _'Yeah, because every intruder does not know how the fuck they got here and so they choose the walkways. You're a fox, Kurama, not a shinobi. Don't make me laugh.'_

 _'I resent that! I'll have you know that I picked up a lot of stuff at the time your mother and grandmother were my hosts.'_

 _'Resent it all you want... Wait, don't distract me. I hear something.'_

Indeed, while the sizzling patter of the rain was masking all the other sounds, Naruko could hear some other noise ahead and to the right. It was the same noise that reminded her of the crash of breakers, but now she heard some kind of rumbling in it. And, actually, it didn't sound like waves anymore.

 _'That sounds... artificial,'_ concluded Kurama.

 _'Thanks,'_ said Naruko venomously. _'I can hear that myself.'_

But it wasn't just the sound that surprised her. With every step she took along the walkway, everything around her became lighter and lighter. The trees almost glowed, showered with light.

In a few moments, Naruko saw a giant glass-case ahead. It shone. It actually shone, as did the windows above it. With every step she made, the building turned out to be even higher than it seemed just moments before and more shining windows were revealed.

Both the fox and the girl fell silent. This was different to everything they had ever experienced. For a moment, Naruko hesitated. Should she just turn around and hide in a tree before carefully planning her next move? She decided against it and, soon, emerged out of the not-forest.

"What the fuck?" she muttered as she stared at the Amegakure-like village towering above her, lit up as if by fireworks. Almost every single window of the tall buildings glowed. On her right, sleek vehicles ran by. They were making the very noise she had been hearing for minutes. The vehicles also had a pair bright headlights each.

This was surreal. This was inconceivable. This was alien...

"Kai!" said Naruko, making the concentration hand seal again.

 _'It's not going to work, kit. Quit trying.'_

 _'So it is real, huh?'_ She shook her head as she sighed. _'Where are we?'_

 _'I wish I knew. By the looks of it, it's certainly not some backwater village... What about you? No shinobi yet? Civilians only?'_ asked the fox suddenly.

 _'Yeah, I guess so. We're in luck. I have to get out of here.'_

 _'And here I thought you'd prefer to sleep in that poor excuse of a forest.'_

 _'I would have, if I had woken up elsewhere.'_

 _'Point,'_ agreed Kurama. _'Where are you going?'_

 _'I was thinking outskirts of the village. Skid row, you know? They're bound to have it, unless this is a shinobi village.'_

 _'Skid row? Really?'_ a very amused fox asked.

 _'Why not? It'd be safe enough for me.'_

 _'Of course, for you it would be, ya blood-thirsty maniac.'_

 _'Hey! I just don't want attention!—'_

* * *

The village was huge. It's not that it had so many unbelievably tall buildings, it's the sheer area it was spread across. Naruko had been walking for two hours already—it wasn't even raining anymore—but she had yet to reach the outskirts. She felt tempted to use the shunshin, but she was determined to give the local shinobi not a tiniest clue as to her whereabouts in case they had been on high alert and looking for her. That's why she didn't update her disguise, even though she could now see how ill-fit it was. Four girls she had met looked nothing like her. Naruko didn't exactly blend in, she stood out like a sore thumb. But first, she had to find a good place to change her appearance without attracting attention. Then she'd change the direction in which she went.

However, Naruko never reached the outskirts as she ran into a little trouble.

She found a seemingly acceptable backstreet and turned a corner, only to find out that the backstreet was not so acceptable. A tall man was there. He had a purple jacket with a flower over his heart, he wore make up on his face, not unlike one Kankurou of Sunagakure, and his hair, a brilliant shade of green, was quite tousled.

Naruko sighed and, having turned around, went on. Kami, was she sleepy!

She heard the sound of footsteps behind her back. The man was obviously trying to catch up with her. Naruko sighed again as she stopped and turned around once more.

The man grinned.

 ** _"Well, hello there, my dear. It is a very pleasant night, isn't it? Nice night for a breakout, I'd say,"_** he said in a little bit high-pitched raspy voice. **_"Your maneuver was very impressive. You didn't even bat an eyelash when you saw me! But nobody can fool me. Are you, perhaps, sad? Let's put a smile on that face, then!"_**

Naruko didn't understand a word.

She was stunned.

She didn't understand a single word!

The man was not speaking Language! Language! Everyone spoke Language!

Granted, she had already seen that all the street signs here were unreadable, but she thought it was just an unfamiliar spelling, or a code.

As she stared blankly at him, the man pulled out a knife and darted towards a spaced out Naruko, his free hand reaching for her face. She blinked and, absentmindedly, cut his head off with her wind-chakra laced kunai.

A fountain of blood rushed up even as the man's head fell down.

"Shit!" cried Naruko, as realization dawned on her, and she dashed aside, so that the blood would not spill all over her.

 _'Jumpy much?'_ said the fox in her mind before snickering.

 _'Fuck off!'_

 _'That was priceless! You do realize he was just a civilian?'_

 _'The stupid fuck had it coming! I'm a kunoichi! How is it my fault that he's picked a fight with me?'_

 _'Um, kit, you're disguised, remember? Your appearance screamed "victim material," you know that?'_

 _'Well, excuse me, I was kind of shocked, with him not speaking Language and whatnot, and then he just_ had _to point his stupid knife at me. Serves him right, I'll say. If only this did not mean trouble with the local authorities... I wouldn't put it past them to declare me rogue and hunt me down because of it. Who knows where the fuck I am!'_

 _'You know, you can always pay them the wergild, if some major shit comes up.'_

 _'He spoke a different... well, language. He must be not the only one who can speak it. Then there are those signs. There is a risk that we simply would not be able to understand each other. Even if we would, I doubt I can pay, since they must have a different currency as well. And I'd rather not pay in gold, if it is of value here at all.'_

 _'What about witnesses? It's not like you've announced your arrival. And you are still in your disguise. Really, kit, it's not that different from your missions. Sloppy, yes, I can tell that, but it's still not that different.'_

 _'You know what, fox? You're right. Still...'_ she trailed off.

The dead body lay on the ground in a pool of blood, the head still rolling down the pavement before stopping abruptly. Naruko looked around thievishly, her Rinne Sharingan spinning. Not a trace of a witness. She did notice a couple of surveillance cameras, to her utter astonishment, but none of them faced the murder scene.

 _'We are lucky once again. No witnesses. No trouble. I'll have to change the disguise right now, though, just in case. And loot the body. Better make it look like a mere robbery, don't you think?'_

 _'Right, kit. Carry on!'_

 _'Oh, please, just shut up.'_

 _'Hey!'_

She summoned a shadow clone, who then proceeded to shuffle through the corpse's pockets. In half a minute a little heap of the man's possessions lay beside his beheaded body.

"It's safe," concluded the clone. "I haven't been dispelled. No chakra detected. Civilian stuff."

"Understood. Undress him."

"Understood."

 _'Undress him? Really? You naughty girl! You really need to get laid, don't you?'_

 _'Kurama,'_ the girl sighed as she directed the thought at the fox, _'that's how muggers operate. They only leave the victim's underwear intact, most of the time. Less fastidious ones take everything.'_

 _'But you aren't a mugger.'_

 _'No, but I'm trying to make it look natural.'_

While the fox and the girl were arguing, the clone took the clothes off the body and folded them into a tidy pile, except for the pants, which she just threw aside.

"It is done, boss," she said to the original Naruko.

"Good. Why did you put the pants aside?"

"He shat them," answered the clone bluntly.

"I see. Toss 'em up."

The clone promptly obeyed.

"Amaterasu!" Naruko intoned.

The pants caught the black fire and were gone in a flash.

 _'That's an overkill, girl. I'm amazed at how frivolous you are with such power.'_

 _'Maybe,'_ was all she answered as she rubbed her eyes. _'Anyway, I do feel the strain. I really need to get rest, and soon.'_

Naruko unsealed a heap of scrolls from one of her tattooed storage seals and threw an empty one to the clone, who nodded and knelt before the loot, spreading the scroll flat. In a few seconds, the goods were gone, and the clone tossed the now full scroll back before dispelling herself.

 _'Why didn't you burn the body, too?'_

 _'Why? 'Cause a missing man is more conspicuous than a dead one. Also, it'll make them assign a few people to locate an active mugger or several active muggers. Those few people won't be looking for a trespassing kunoichi.'_

Naruko resealed all the scrolls back and looked at her handiwork.

The body lay still as did the head. Not a single trace would betray that it was a ninja who had killed the man. It really did look like a robbery. Aside from the very fact she had killed the man in the first place, Naruko did a very good job.

She smiled and shunshined away, even though not too far. She didn't want the cameras to catch her on film, after all. The only reason she did so was to put some distance between herself and her latest footprints.

Having glanced around with her Sharingan on, she walked up the wall and, once she'd reached the roof, beelined towards a tower that sparkled far away. She didn't go all the way to it and, after using her Sharingan once again, jumped down on the street. She already had a different appearance, this time she henged into Hyuuga Hinata, although she made the eyes black and the hair brown. It stood to reason that the attire was more like what the girls of this world wore.

 _'There now,'_ she thought smugly. _'No connection to the crime scene.'_

 _'Aw, come on, kit. One lowlife less, no biggie. Who's going to care?'_

Naruko shrugged and plunged into the darkness, leaving no trace, not even her footprints.


End file.
